SARAJEVO, May 30 (Hina) - The newly appointed High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown, has dismissed requests by the Bosnian Serb political leadership to re-examine decisions made by his predecessor, Wolfgang
Petritsch, during his last days in office.
SARAJEVO, May 30 (Hina) - The newly appointed High Representative
for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown, has dismissed requests by
the Bosnian Serb political leadership to re-examine decisions made
by his predecessor, Wolfgang Petritsch, during his last days in
office.#L#
These decisions are the law now and they must be implemented,
Ashdown's spokesman Patrik Volf said in Sarajevo on Thursday.
Republika Srpska senior officials accused Petritsch of having set a
dangerous precedent by passing decisions which, among else,
changed the entity's constitution, and opened possibilities for
further amendments to the Constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The President of the Bosnian Serb entity, Mirko Sarovic, and Prime
Minister Mladen Ivanic said the decision under which the president
of the entity would no longer have any powers in the appointment of
judges of the entity's supreme and constitutional courts was
particularly unacceptable.
Under the decision, the supreme judicial and prosecution council
would have the exclusive power to appoint all judges and
prosecutors in Bosnia in the future. Members of this body would
practically have an unlimited mandate. They will be appointed by
the High Representative.
The spokesman for the High Representative said Ashdown entirely
supported Petritsch's decisions because they aim at establishing
the rule-of-law and eliminating the influence of politics on the
judicial system.
(hina) it sb